February 8, 1993

Remembering Tennis Legend Arthur Ashe

We remember the boundary-breaking African American athlete with an excerpt from a 1989 interview. Ashe died over the weekend from complications related to the AIDS virus.

12:47

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Guest

Arthur Ashe

Host

Terry Gross

Other segments from the episode on February 8, 1993

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, February 8, 1993: Interview with Mathea Falco; Interview with Elliiott Currie; Obituary for Arthur Ashe; Commentary on rock music in 1973.

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February 8, 1993

11:21

Sussing Out What Works and What Doesn't in U.S. Drug Policy

Director of Health Policy, Department of Public Health, Mathea Falco. She was an advisor to Clinton during the presidential campaign. She's written extensively about drugs, drug abuse, and drug policy. She has a new book, "The Making of a Drug-Free America: Programs that Work."

Interview

Mathea Falco

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February 8, 1993

10:01

How to Attack the Roots of America's Drug Problem

Sociologist and research associate at the Institute for the Study of Social Change, Elliott Currie. He has a new book, "Reckoning: Drugs, the Cities, and the American Future." He believes that effective drug control depends on curtailing poverty and improving the economy in inner cities.

Interview

Elliott Currie

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February 8, 1993

07:48

In 1973, Rock Was Anything but Revolutionary

Rock historian Ed Ward remembers the year 1973, which, upon further reflection, he concedes wasn't so bad after all.

Commentary

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Arnold Rampersad, professor of Literature at Princeton, biographer of Langston Hughes, is coauthor of tennis star Arthur Ashe's memoir, "Days of Grace." Ashe died this year at age 49 from AIDS he contracted during open heart surgery. He was the first African American tennis champion, winning the United States Open in 1968, and going on to capture three Grand Slam titles. He has remained a vital presence in the sport, and his autobiography features portraits of the great celebrities of tennis.

Interview

Arnold Rampersad

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January 6, 1989

27:26

Arthur Ashe: The Fresh Air Interview

Ashe was a boundary-breaking African American tennis player who won Wimbeldon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian open. He started playing the sport in the 1950s, when courts were still segregated. In 1979, heart bypass surgery cut his career short. Ashe now writes books about the history of the black athletes. His latest, a three volume series, is called A Hard Road to Glory.

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January 18, 2021

42:52

Documentary Exposes How The FBI Tried To Destroy MLK With Wiretaps, Blackmail

From the March on Washington in 1963 up until his assassination in 1968, the FBI engaged in an intense campaign to discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and his work. Film director Sam Pollard chronicles those efforts in the new documentary, MLK/FBI.

Interview

Sam Pollard

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Remembering Tennis Legend Arthur Ashe

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on February 8, 1993

Sussing Out What Works and What Doesn't in U.S. Drug Policy

How to Attack the Roots of America's Drug Problem

In 1973, Rock Was Anything but Revolutionary

Transcript

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Arthur Ashe's Cowriter on the Athlete's Posthumous Memoir

Arthur Ashe: The Fresh Air Interview

Documentary Exposes How The FBI Tried To Destroy MLK With Wiretaps, Blackmail

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